Doors
by ProAmoreLaeliae
Summary: One door closes, and another opens.  Who stands on the other side?  Liley based on "I'll Always Remember You."


**Doors  
**

**A/N: Robby Ray's little speech about doors in "I'll Always Remember You" inspired this one. The symbolism and suggestion of that particular scene hardly seem accidental, but maybe the writers really are oblivious to the subtext that pervades the show. Who knows? All reviews and criticisms are welcome.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hannah Montana or any related franchise. No infringement intended.**

Miley picked at her eggs. She wasn't really hungry; she just wanted to go back to bed. A heavy sigh escaped her throat.

"You know Dad," Miley said, "I really thought Jesse was different. I thought he could handle all this."

"Eh, you just gotta give the boy time, Mile," Robby Ray said as he finished pouring a glass of orange juice and sat down at the table. "If he really loves you, he'll be back. If he really loves that pretty boy face of his, he won't be."

"Daddy," Miley said, trying to sound impatient, but despair crept into her voice, softening her tone.

"I'm sorry honey," Robby Ray said. "I just hate seeing you this hurt. Truth is, whether you're ready to hear it or not, if he comes back, that's great. If he doesn't, there'll be other boys." With a wry smile, he added, "I keep praying there won't be, but there always are."

Miley almost smiled. "I don't know. Maybe I should just give up guys for good," she offered, not really sure whether she was joking or not.

"Aww, now you're just teasing me," said Robby Ray. "Honey, the truth is life has a funny way of working things out. One door closes; another one opens."

Robby Ray started to say something else, but at that moment Lilly burst through the front door squealing madly and jumping up, down, and all around. Lilly held in her hands two large manila folders which she was waving about in all directions like the Seaview High School color guard.

Robby Ray was saying something, but Miley didn't hear him. Her eyes stayed on Lilly as she traversed the living room in loops and circles like a whirlwind. Lilly stopped in front of Miley and handed her one of the envelopes. "Look what came in the mail today!" Lilly squealed. Miley didn't speak as she took the envelope in her hands. Her wide eyes stayed on Lilly's face.

"Miley!" Lilly shouted excitedly. "You're not screaming! Why aren't you screaming? These are our admissions letters from Stanford!"

Miley shook her head to clear it. "I know. I was just thinking about something completely different."

"Okay, well save it," said Lilly as she started to rip into her own envelope. "I want to see what these letters say."

Within a few seconds, both girls had their letters open. Miley looked at hers, then her gaze dropped to the floor.

As excited as Lilly was, she wasn't oblivious to Miley, and she noticed her downcast expression hovering over the floor.

"Miley, what's wrong?" she asked, afraid of the answer.

"I didn't get in," Miley said, looking up. Lilly could see tears welling up in Miley's eyes. Not sure of what else to do, Lilly said the first thing that came to mind.

"I guess it's our second choice, then. I didn't get in either."

Miley smiled. "Stanford's loss," she said. Lilly smiled.

"That's all right," Robby Ray interjected. "Most people don't get into their first choice school anyway." He walked over to the girls and held out a hand. "Here, let me have those. I'm about to take out the trash and I don't see any reason to keep rejections around."

Miley handed Robby Ray the envelope and her rejection letter. Lilly had already put her letter back in the envelope when she handed it to Robby Ray. He looked at Miley's rejection letter, sighed, and dropped it into the trash can. As he did so, his hand turned over Lilly's envelope, causing the letter to drop out of it into the trash can, landing face-up.

As Robby Ray walked to the trash can, the girls moved to the couch. "All right, Miley, spill it," said Lilly. "What were you thinking about when I walked in?"

"Uhm, first of all, I wouldn't call what you did 'walking in,'" said Miley. "That was a Lilly Landing for the ages."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Lilly said impatiently. "You said you were thinking about something completely different. What was it?"

"Nothing," said Miley.

"It's never 'nothing,' Miley. You know I'm not going to let this go."

"I was just thinking about Jesse, and doors opening and closing. No big deal."

"Well, let's see," said Lilly, "he broke up with you last night, so I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the stuff on your mind is kind of a big deal."

"Okay, maybe it is a big deal," said Miley.

Robby Ray picked that moment to approach the couch with one of the letters from Stanford in his hand. "Check it out, Lilly," he said, waving the paper in the air as Lilly's eyes bugged out in horror. "You misread your letter. You did get in!"

Miley felt like she had just been hit with a brick. She turned her head back and forth between Lilly and her Dad, unsure what to think.

"Nice going, Mr. S," Lilly said, exasperated.

Robby Ray grimaced, and Lilly knew that he had just figured out how he had messed up. By the light that came into his eyes next, she could also tell that he had an idea of how to fix it that was not going to work.

"Well what do you know?" Robby Ray exclaimed. "This is my credit card approval, not your college letter," he said. "Sorry I got your hopes up, Lilly."

"That's okay," Lilly replied. "Now don't you need to call the bank and activate your new card?" she added helpfully.

"Right, good thinking," said Robby Ray. "I'll go do that." With that, he scurried upstairs.

Miley turned back to Lilly once Robby Ray was gone. "That wasn't a credit card approval and we both know it," she said.

"So I got in and you didn't," Lilly said. "What does it matter? We'll go to our second choice, like I said."

"You'd really give up going to Stanford for me?" Miley said.

"I'm not willing to give you up for Stanford," said Lilly. "Besides, it's a tough school. I don't think I could get through it if I didn't have you there with me."

Without warning, Miley engulfed Lilly in a powerful hug. "You're so sweet to me, Lilly," she whispered. Lilly could hear tears on the edge of Miley's voice as she wrapped her arms around Miley's back, reciprocating Miley's embrace.

"I told you before," Lilly said quietly, "you couldn't lose me if you wanted to."

"I know," said Miley. "And I don't think I've ever been more thankful for that than I am today. Everything in my world is upside-down, except for you. You're still here, like you've always been."

"Like I'm always going to be," Lilly said, pulling back from the embrace so she could look into Miley's eyes.

"Lilly," said Miley, "do you remember yesterday in English when Mr. Yannis was talking about doors?"

Lilly smiled and started speaking in a low monotone, drawing out her vowels. "'In literature, a door can mean almost anything,'" she drawled dully. "Doors represent choices, paths. Sometimes the door is closed, and it's up to the character to open it. Sometimes the door is open, and the character must decide to walk through it. Sometimes the character knows what is on the other side of the door, but sometimes the character does not. The known path or the unknown path? Change or the status quo? These are things that we need to be thinking about whenever we see the word 'door.'"

Miley laughed. "That's a great impersonation," she said. "I can't believe you memorized that whole spiel," she said.

"I didn't memorize a thing," Lilly said. "He talks so slow I was able to write it all down word for word."

Miley laughed again. "Well, you could probably pass for him on the intercom," she said. "But what he said just really clicked for me a few minutes ago, about how sometimes the door is wide open and the character can see what's on the other side, but she still has to decide whether to walk through the door."

"Okay, so you're standing at an open door?" Lilly said.

"Before you got back from the mailbox, Daddy and I were talking about Jesse," Miley continued. "He was basically saying whatever will be will be, you know, the usual. But then he said something about doors, too, that whenever one closes, another opens up."

"So a door opened," said Lilly, still trying to follow the metaphor.

"The front door opened," said Miley. "The front door opened and you . . . landed."

"What are you trying to say, Miley?" Lilly asked. Her dad was an accountant and her mom was a cop-turned-political-consultant; imagination and metaphor weren't Truscott strengths.

"I'm saying," said Miley, "that I've been so focused on finding the right guy that I never stopped to ask myself if it was a guy I was looking for."

"Wow," Lilly said as her eyes got big.

"Please don't freak out, Lilly," Miley begged. "I don't mean it like that. Well, I don't really know how I mean it. What I do mean, for sure, is that everything I've ever looked for in a guy I've always had in you as a friend."

"Wow," Lilly repeated. "Miley, I don't know what to say."

"You've already told me twice that I can never lose you," Miley said. "As long as you still feel that way, I couldn't ask for anything more." Miley laughed lightly. "In this case, I don't even really know what 'more' would mean, anyway."

"That's probably a good thing," said Lilly, "seeing as how 'more' would have to mean you stepping on Oliver's toes. You may be able to forget about him, but he's still my boyfriend. I can't dump him from halfway across the world just because my best friend suddenly decides she likes girls."

"Of course," said Miley, a hint of sarcasm entering her voice. "Heaven forbid you get closer to me than you are to Oliver."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lilly demanded shrilly.

"Lilly, can you seriously tell me that you feel closer to Oliver than you do to me?"

Lilly opened her mouth wide to speak, but then stopped and closed her mouth again. She repeated these motions three times before finally saying, "It's just different with Oliver. He's a guy."

"So what?" said Miley. "What does that mean? That you can cuddle and kiss and screw?"

"Well, I wouldn't say it like that," said Lilly. "But I guess that's what I mean."

"Fine," said Miley. "I just want you to ask yourself one thing. When was the last time you did any of those things with Oliver?"

Lilly's indignant expression fell like a mask from her face, replaced by a nervous, ponderous expression.

"Lilly, we both have a lot to think about," Miley said. "Let's just stop this conversation where it is and go think for a while."

Lilly nodded slowly.

"Listen, Lil," said Miley, "you're the best friend ever, no matter what happens. I'm going riding for a while. See you at lunch?"

Lilly smiled. "I'll make sandwiches," she said.

While Miley rode Blue Jeans, Lilly found herself at the skate park, messing up tricks she could usually do in her sleep. After thirty minutes, she gave it up, grabbed her board, and started the walk back to the car. She was about to open the passenger door to toss all her equipment in it when her phone started vibrating in her pocket. She pulled it out and saw Oliver's name and number on the screen.

"Hey, Ollie," she said in a more subdued voice than she had intended.

"Is everything all right?" asked Oliver. "You sound sad."

"I'm not sad," Lilly said. "Just got some stuff on my mind."

"You want to talk about it?"

"Not right now. What's up with you?"

"Well . . ." said Oliver, drawing the word out.

"What does 'well' mean?" Lilly asked, imitating the way Oliver had said it.

"The tour got extended," Oliver said quickly, then stopped, waiting for a reply.

"Extended? How long?"

"Another four months," Oliver replied, a grimace audible in his voice as he spit out the words.

"Four months? Ollie, you've already been gone five months. That'll be almost a year!"

"I know, Lilly, and I'm sorry," Oliver said, "but I can't just cut out on this. By the time I get back, we'll practically be rich."

"You," said Lilly. "You'll practically be rich."

"Lilly, you know that what's mine is yours."

"That's not really what I mean," said Lilly. "Oliver, I love you, but I don't think I can wait for you anymore."

"What?" Oliver shrieked. Lilly held the phone away from her ear. "What do you mean you can't wait anymore? I've waited, and I was going to keep waiting, so why can't you?"

"Oliver, there's a difference. You're living a dream. I'm just living normal life. The next four months will fly by for you. For me, though, they're just going to crawl by while I wait."

"It can't be that bad," said Oliver. "You've got Miley there to keep you company." The silence that comment produced was deafening.

"Lilly? Still there?"

"Yeah, I'm still here. Listen, Oliver, Miley and I . . . what I mean is . . . I don't know how to put this . . ."

"You're in love with her." It wasn't a question. To Lilly, it almost sounded like an accusation.

"No," said Lilly. "But you know she and I have always been close, and now Miley's talking about moving to another level. Neither of us is really sure what that means, but I do know it means that I'll be five months down that road by the time you get back. I can't tell you what's going to happen tomorrow, or the next day or the next week or month, but I don't think it's fair to you if I try to tell you everything will be just fine."

When Oliver finally spoke, his voice cracked with as yet unshed tears. "Lilly, I love you, and I want you to be happy. If you think being with Miley will make you happy, then that's what you need to do." Lilly could tell that Oliver was crying now as he continued. "But if things don't work out, I'll still be here for you. I love you."

"I know you love me, Ollie," Lilly said, tears streaming down her own cheeks now, "and I love you. But the more I think about it, the more I think we just love each other like friends."

"No, Lilly," said Oliver, but Lilly cut him off.

"Listen to me, Oliver. If you really loved me like _that_, you would already be booking a plane ticket back to Malibu. Instead, you want me to do whatever makes me happy, no matter what it does to you. That's not what a boyfriend does. That's what a true friend does."

Oliver sniffled loudly. "I don't know what to say to that," he said after a short pause.

"I don't know that there is anything to say," Lilly said. "You're a great friend, Ollie. Please don't stop calling. I've got to go."

"Bye, Lilly. I love you."

"Goodbye, Oliver. Take care."

Miley returned from getting Blue Jeans settled back into his stall to find Lilly putting the finishing touches on two turkey sandwiches.

"What do you want to drink?" Lilly asked.

"Just water, thanks," said Miley, sitting down at the table. Lilly set a sandwich and a glass of water in front of her. Hungry as she was, Miley waited for Lilly to sit down before she started eating. The girls ate in silence. When they had finished their sandwiches, they looked up and into each other's eyes.

"Oliver and I broke up," Lilly said.

Miley raised a curious eyebrow.

"His tour got extended another four months, which means he won't be back until we're moving into our dorm room at UCLA. I told him that whatever was happening between you and me, it would be five months in progress by the time he got back. It wouldn't have been fair to string him along that whole time, and it would have made both you and me a total wreck."

"How did he react?"

"He told me to do what would make me happy," Lilly said glumly.

"Was he crying when he said that?" Miley asked.

"I can't get anything past you, can I?" Lilly said with a small smile.

"Not much," said Miley. "I'm sorry that Oliver got hurt, but the door's already open. We could choose not to walk through it, but we can't close it back."

"I know," said Lilly. "I'm sad for Oliver, but I know I'm making the right decision because I'm not that sad for myself. I've been thinking that maybe my relationship with Oliver didn't mean as much as I thought it did."

"I don't believe that," said Miley. "I think it meant something different than you thought it did, but not less." Miley reached out and placed a hand over Lilly's. "Don't think of it as ending the relationship, but as putting it right."

Lilly looked down at Miley's hand cradling her own. She put her other hand over Miley's and looked back up, gazing into Miley's eyes. "Is this the first step of 'more'?" she asked, moving her eyes to indicate their hands.

"We've held hands before," Miley said.

"Yeah," said Lilly, "but this is different."

"We're different," said Miley.

"We walked through the door," said Lilly.

"We walked through the door," Miley repeated.

Robby Ray stood outside, furtively watching through the kitchen window as Miley and Lilly got up from the table and sat down on the couch, never releasing each other's hands. Miley turned on the television, then snuggled into Lilly, who in turn snuggled into Miley. Robby Ray couldn't see Lilly's face, but he could see a peaceful smile appear on his daughter's face. He let out a deep sigh.

"About danged time," he said to himself, forming a smile of his own.

**A/N: I know, I know, the story cuts out before they even kiss, but the story absolutely demanded that I end it there, and once the story has spoken, the humble writer must obey.**


End file.
